Tag Archives: Economy

March-May 2014 Review

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May 2014 review

The March-May 2014 review continues the look back on a very busy year in and around Columbus.

Development News
March
-Plans were announced to redevelop Poindexter Village with 350 residential units, as well as community center and park space.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/poindexter-plan-calls-for-350-multi-family-units-urban-farm-bw1
-A new brewery announced it would be moving into space on West Town Street in Franklinton.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/03/land-grant-brewing-finally-finds-home.html
-A new 42-unit residential development was announced for Downtown Dublin.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/03/crawford-hoying-planning-42-luxury.html
-101 residential units were proposed for 991 Dennison Avenue in Victorian Village.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-five-story-101-unit-apartment-building-proposed-for-victorian-village
-Columbus announced plans to use $2.5 billion to build infrastructure to reduce runoff and pollution issues, including creating water gardens and new parks across the city.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/green-infrastructure-and-neighborhood-pocket-parks-part-of-blueprint-columbus-plan-bw1
-Reeb Elementary on the South Side was announced to be turned into a community center.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/03/21/south-side-community-center-gets-go-ahead.html
-New caps, similar to the existing retail cap on High Street over I-670 were announced to be in the works as part of the 70/71 rebuild. The caps would replace the highway bridges on S. High and S. Third between Downtown and German Village.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/caps-planned-for-high-and-third-street-bridges-south-of-downtown-bw1

April
-A vacant 1880s building a 140 N. Grant was announced to be renovated into mixed-use and residential.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/04/10/former-inkling-printing-building-on-east-long-to.html
-40 units of affordable housing was proposed for vacant buildings at Long and Front Downtown.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/affordable-housing-development-proposed-at-long-front-downtown
-Plans to renovate the Citizens Building at the southwest corner of Gay and High Downtown were announced, as well as building a new mixed-use building on the northwest corner.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/edwards-communities-contemplates-infill-at-gay-and-high
-Plans were also announced to renovate hundreds of apartments in the Metro West complex behind Westland Mall.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/04/mitt-romney-affiliate-buys-most-of-metro-west.html

May
-The Short North Donatos announced plans to rebuild into a new restaurant with 2nd floor patio and additional spaces for more retail.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/short-north-donatos-demolition-and-new-build
-The Byers Chevrolet site on West Broad Street in Franklinton was purchased by Nationwide Reality for a potential mixed-use project.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/nri-to-redevelop-byers-chevrolet-site-in-franklinton
-Casto announced plans for a 152-unit residential complex overlooking the Scioto River near Hayden Road.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/05/casto-to-build-apartments-overlooking-scioto-river.html
-41 new homes were coming to N. Grant Avenue in Weinland Park.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/05/wagenbrenner-adding-market-rate-homes-in-weinland.html
-A small condo development was proposed for Summit in Italian Village.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/condos-proposed-for-first-and-summit-in-italian-village-bw1
-Children’s Hospital announced plans for 2 new buildings on Livingston Avenue.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/05/28/Nationwide-Childrens-Hospital-plans-expansion.html
-The Stoddart Block, a historic residential building, would be renovated into micro apartments.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/stoddart-block-affordable-housing-downtown

Economic News
-Home sales declined in all 3 months of March-May, as demand far outpaced supply.
-The unemployment rate continued to fall to multi-year lows.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2014/05/20/regional-central-ohio-unemployment-falls-april.html
-Columbus was named the 6th most affordable metro in the nation.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/05/ohio-cities-ranked-among-most-affordable-housing.html

Other News
-Columbus’ population was announced to have grown by more than 12,000 people between 2012-2013, and reached a population of 822,553 in 2013.
-Columbus was named one of the top cities for entrepreneurs.
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/05/columbus-tops-in-ohio-among-best-cities-for.html
-Columbus was named a top city where people could accomplish their dreams/goals.
http://www.columbusunderground.com/columbus-ranked-6th-on-list-of-american-dream-cities-jb1

January 2014 Review

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January 2014 review

This kind of post seems obligatory at this time of year. I thought about making just one big post, but there was so much that happened this year that I decided to break it up by month. This won’t include every single piece of news, of course, but rather just the highlights. First up is the January 2014 review.

Development
-The Columbus Zoo began to push for a permanent levy to help pay for upgrades at its existing facility, as well as for adding a new expansion attraction at the Scioto Peninsula Downtown http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/01/09/zoo-wants-vote-on-bigger-permanent-property-tax.html
-Redevelopment of the Barrett Middle School site in Merion Village began to make news. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/home_and_garden/2014/01/12/caughtmiddle.html The project should begin sometime this spring, though the exact number of residential units and layout has changed some.
-Columbus adopted Complete Streets. http://www.columbusunderground.com/new-complete-streets-thoroughfare-plan-could-have-big-impact-bw1 This set of standards guides the development of the street layout and design throughout the city. This includes including multi-use and bike paths, as well as better signaling and access for pedestrians.
-A new 40-unit apartment complex was proposed for 122 Parsons Avenue in Olde Towne East. However, very little news has been heard about this project since, as it may be waiting for work on the Parsons section of the 70/71 rebuild to move along first. http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/new-ote-apartment-complex-proposal-parsons-gustavus-OSU announced plans to renovate several buildings in order to create a sort-of tech campus that partnered with IBM’s new analytics center in Dublin. http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2014/01/23/osu-in-line-for-53m-from-state.html
-And on the West Side, the huge apartment complex off Georgesville Road once known as Lincoln Park West, was announced to get a major makeover, with the demolition of a few hundred units while the rest would get a high-end renovation. This complex had long been very run down and the site of tragic arson fires, crime and high vacancy. http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2014/01/204-apartments-at-former-lincoln-park.html

Economy/Other
-Columbus was named one of the nation’s top Opportunity Cities. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/america-s-new-opportunity-cities-222209099.html
-Columbus was named one of the top 7 Intelligent Communities in the world. http://www.columbusunderground.com/forums/topic/top7-intelligent-communities-of-2014-aka-were-smart-again
-Columbus was predicted to have one of the nation’s best economic performances of 2014. http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2014/01/22/cities-face-a-good-but-not-great-economic-outlook-for-2014/ The numbers won’t be out for a few months on how the city/metro actually performed, however.
-A study came out detailing how future growth in Columbus would radically alter where people lived and in what type of home and environment they lived. The consensus? Young and urban. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dlovaas/discovering_a_new_housing_futu.html
-The unemployment rate rose to 6% in January from December 2013, as it usually rises after seasonal employees are laid off. However, this was 1.1 percentage points lower than the previous January.

Weather
January 2014 continued what December 2013 had started. Snowfall was nearly 2x above normal and temperatures were almost 7 degrees below normal. The month tied for the 15th coldest January and the 16th snowiest. The coldest low was -11 and the low hit 0 or below 7 times, the most since 1994. The biggest snow event occurred on the 25th-26th with 8.3″. This was the 10th largest January snowstorm of all time. Snow depth reached at least 1″ on 19 days.



Cool Link The Geography of Jobs

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This link shows a time lapse of metros across the US from 1999 to 2014 and how total jobs changed over the months and years. You can click on a metro for more individual details.

http://tipstrategies.com/geography-of-jobs/

May 2014 Jobs Data

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May 2014 jobs data

May was generally a positive month for Columbus and Ohio according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment rates did creep up a bit, but largely because more people came onto the market looking for jobs, which is considered a positive sign. Also positive is that almost every industry saw decent growth in the metro, as shown below in the May 2014 jobs data.

Columbus City
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Unemployment Rate Change since May 2013: -1.7%
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2014: -1.4%
Civilian Labor Force: 435,500
Civilian Labor Force Change since May 2013: -2,000
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2014: +1,800
Employment: 416,400
Employment Change since May 2013: +5,600
Employment Change since January 2014: +8,000
Unemployment: 19,100
Unemployment Change since May 2013: -7,500
Unemployment Change since January 2014: -6,300

Franklin County
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Unemployment Rate Change since May 2013: -1.7%
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2014: -1.5%
Civilian Labor Force: 636,400
Civilian Labor Force Change since May 2013: -2,600
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2014: +2,800
Employment: 608,300
Employment Change since May 2013: +6,100
Employment Change since January 2014: +11,800
Unemployment: 28,100
Unemployment Change since May 2013: -10,700
Unemployment Change since January 2014: -9,000

Columbus Metro Area
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Unemployment Rate Change since May 2013: -1.6%
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2014: -1.6%
Civilian Labor Force: 982,412
Civilian Labor Force Change since May 2013: -4,512
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2014: +2,216
Employment: 939,332
Employment Change since May 2013: +12,108
Employment Change since January 2014: +17,688
Unemployment: 43,080
Unemployment Change since May 2013: -16,620
Unemployment Change since January 2014: -15,472

Ohio Overall
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Unemployment Rate Change since May 2013: -1.9%
Unemployment Rate Change since January 2014 : -1.4%
Civilian Labor Force: 5,721,891
Civilian Labor Force Change since May 2013: -48,893
Civilian Labor Force Change since January 2014: -41,237
Employment: 5,406,014
Employment Change since May 2013: +60,405
Employment Change since January 2014: +38,259
Unemployment: 315,877
Unemployment Change since May 2013: -109,298
Unemployment Change since January 2014: -79,496

Metro Non-Farm Jobs
Total: 995,600
Change from May 2013: +11,100
Change from January 2014: +29,800

By Industry
Mining/Logging/Construction Total: 33,700
Change from May 2013: +1,900
Change from January 2014: +4,400

Manufacturing Total: 67,700
Change from May 2013: -100
Change from January 2014: +1,700

Trade/Transportation/Utilities Total: 187,900
Change from May, 2013: +3,900
Change from January 2014: +1,500

Information Total: 18,100
Change from May 2013: +100
Change from January 2014: +0

Financial Activities Total: 73,500
Change from May 2013: -2,000
Change from January 2014: -300

Professional and Business Services Total: 162,500
Change from May 2013: -700
Change from January 2014: +4,100

Education and Health Services Total: 142,500
Change from May 2013: +2,800
Change from January 2014: +5,300

Leisure and Hospitality Total: 103,00
Change from May 2013: +1,800
Change from January 2014: +9,100

Other Services Total: 38,900
Change from May 2013: +900
Change from January 2014: +600

Government Total: 167,800
Change from May 2013: +2,500
Change from January 2014: +3,400